Separate drinking stock from river volume
During a Drought, water sources stop supplying new flow. Stored water in tanks remains directly useful; water in a reservoir only helps if a suitable pump can reach it and workers can operate the pump. The Weather reference also warns that exposed water may evaporate, so do not count the entire visible river as durable storage.
The rounded Wiki baseline is 2.25 water units per beaver per day, while its more exact average is lower. Use the rounded figure as an easy planning estimate, not a guarantee. Check your difficulty and custom consumption setting, because a different setting invalidates the baseline.
- Read the upcoming drought duration shown by your current save, and count living beavers rather than only employed workers.
- Estimate baseline thirst: beavers × drought days × 2.25 water units; add a margin for uncertainty or non-drinking uses.
- Read the actual drinkable stock in tanks and whether there is free capacity to pump more before the drought begins.
- Inspect the reservoir's lowest expected water level against your faction's pump intake depth and access route.
- Before calling the colony ready, check food and irrigated crops separately: drinking-water arithmetic does not guarantee a harvest.
References: Official Timberborn Wiki: Weather · Official Timberborn Wiki: Beavers · Official Timberborn Wiki: Game Settings · Official Timberborn Wiki: Fluid Pumps
Use the first unmet requirement as the build priority
A full river with empty tanks is vulnerable if the remaining pump access is poor. Full tanks with no food can also lose a colony during a long dry period. The right fix is the first missing dependency you can identify from the stock, pump and crop displays, not always another dam.
Water Pump depth is faction-specific in the consulted pump table. Do not copy a screenshot's placement onto a deeper or shallower bank without checking that your installed pump can reach the reservoir after the level falls.
| Observation | What it means | Next useful check |
|---|---|---|
| Tank stock below estimated thirst | Drinkable reserve may run out | Keep a staffed pump running while water is available; add usable tank capacity if needed |
| Reservoir has water but pump is idle | Water is not automatically drinkable | Inspect intake depth, worker status, access and tank capacity |
| River stops and farmland dries | Irrigation is a separate dependency | Check which fields stay watered and whether food stock covers the dry period |
| Warning length differs from a guide | Difficulty or custom settings differ | Use this save's forecast and observed stock change, not a fixed day count |
References: Official Timberborn Wiki: Weather · Official Timberborn Wiki: Fluid Pumps · Official Timberborn Wiki: Game Settings
Worked example: 12 beavers and a three-day warning
Illustrative budget, not a measured Timberborn save: 12 beavers × 2.25 water/day × 3 days = 81 units of baseline drinking demand. Add an editorial 20-unit buffer, so the planning target is 101 accessible units. If tanks contain 70 units and the reservoir cannot be pumped after flow stops, the plan is short by 31 units; a decorative dam does not erase that shortfall.
If tank stock is rising during the warning, update the remaining gap from the live inventory. If custom consumption is set above baseline, estimate using several days of observed water decline rather than 2.25. Industrial use and evaporation are not included in the 81-unit calculation.
References: Official Timberborn Wiki: Beavers · Official Timberborn Wiki: Game Settings · Official Timberborn Wiki: Weather
Verify the route, not a screenshot
Before the drought, follow one unit of water: pump intake in reachable water, worker assigned, clean water output, storage filling and beaver access to the stored stock. Stop building speculative infrastructure if the first failed link is simply an unstaffed pump.
Record the weather setting and the stock at the start and end of a day. That observed daily rate is better than a generalized Wiki estimate for your next cycle.
Faction / game build / consumption setting:
Population and forecast drought days:
Tank stock / accessible reservoir / pump depth:
Estimated demand and chosen buffer:
Observed stock change over one day / first bottleneck:Before you play
- Forecast and full population used for the calculation.
- Tank stock and intake reach checked separately.
- A buffer stated rather than hidden in the answer.
- Food and irrigation examined as separate drought risks.
Frequently asked questions
Does a dam automatically provide drinking water?
No. The water must remain available to a suitable pump and be stored or delivered as drinkable water.
Is 2.25 units per beaver universal?
No. It is a rounded community-Wiki baseline. Difficulty and custom consumption settings can change the amount; use observed stock change in your save.
Sources & revision notes
Editorial revision: September 24, 2026. Source notes give the scope of each reference; the revision date is not a gameplay test date. Official documentation describes the publisher's system; community sources can contain errors. Use your installed game's own descriptions when they disagree.
- Official Timberborn Wiki: Weather (Community)
Officially hosted, community-edited Wiki reference checked September 24, 2026 for Drought and Badtide behavior. It does not prescribe a safe reservoir design for every map.
- Official Timberborn Wiki: Beavers (Community)
Community-edited rounded baseline consumption checked September 24, 2026; game settings and population mix can change observed daily stock usage.
- Official Timberborn Wiki: Game Settings (Community)
Community-edited setting reference checked September 24, 2026 for food/water consumption and weather-duration modifiers. Read the selected save's actual settings.
- Official Timberborn Wiki: Fluid Pumps (Community)
Community-edited pump comparison checked September 24, 2026. Faction, pump depth and terrain geometry matter; do not assume an unbuilt pump reaches stored water.
Published an original tank-runway and pump-reach decision flow, with transparent drought arithmetic and explicit setting limits.
How we research and correct guides